February Side Trip to Ohio

In February, the kids and I took a side trip (in what world can 7+ hours in the car be a side trip?!) to my parents' house. We took advantage of the snow, even though there aren't many hills to speak of.  This particular snow was a layer of ice, with a couple inches of snow, topped with additional ice.

 Once I crunched a course out, the track ran pretty well. It was better with a double-person ride. Joel had the most stamina for the sledding. After I went back inside to warm up, Joel kept playing. Grandpa found him crying in the hard some time later, barefoot. He had lost a boot at the top of a run, gone on down the hill anyway, and then found himself cold and without resources at the bottom. I didn't expect to see Grandpa carrying Joel into the house, but he did. Grandpa to the rescue.

I love this kid so much. So much vitality, so much energy. He makes me laugh every day. 

 I tried to help Mom and Dad out with some of the chores while I was there, so I got to wear the Carhartt coat and Orange Hat of Honor. Okay, it's not really called that, but the one who is wearing it has been Out Doing Something, so now that I'm a grown-up I'm happy to be putting it on. The chores this time consisted of feeding/water the chickens and the brood of turkeys, and climbing up into the hay loft to throw some hay down to the larger herbivores. The funny thing about the turkeys was the way that they would *GOBBLEGOBBLEGOBBLE* all together, in response to any provocation. A squeaky swing, for instance.

 We *ahem* borrowed one of my sister's old Barbies and made a dress out of an old sock--because my hand sewing skills are about enough to do a running stitch around the cuff and call it good. I'm glad my daughter's standards in these things aren't very high yet.  

Thanks to generous babysitting from Grandma and Grandpa, I got to head over to Ohio University for Sibs' Weekend with my sister! I had a good time being with her, and being on campus again. So much has changed there for the fancier, but there's still ice cream. :) 

In my spare time, I am a fairy princess.